Chapter 82: The Fall of the Glutton.
After following the Great Thief Dragon around in circles a few times with nothing to show for it, Jié Jié decided to give up.
Rather than trailing this gluttonous brute that did nothing but eat and wander aimlessly, it would be better to later inquire from the seasoned Thunder Wolf Dragon.
As the Great Thief Dragon indulged in its third round of feeding for the day, Jié Jié blinked his eye membranes.
He took a deep breath, his body swelling rapidly like an inflating balloon.
Golden Thunder King raised his palm and unleashed a mighty blow against the Great Thief Dragon’s side.
Its flesh tore apart, blood drenched in charred marks soaking through.
Startled, the Great Thief Dragon staggered back, spitting out two mouthfuls of yellowish gastric fluid before righting itself and roaring furiously at Golden Thunder King.
But then Golden Thunder King lifted his palm again, unleashing a powerful uppercut from afar. Rolling thunderbolts struck its body.
Ah, the Great Thief Dragon is still the Great Thief Dragon—its survival until now was only due to being too tough to chew and not appearing on the menu of any other predators of similar size.
A ground-shaking Dragon Charge came rushing in, but Golden Thunder King nimbly leapt backward to evade it, then flew forward as the Great Thief Dragon paused to catch its breath after the charge.
The terrifying size and weight made it impossible to knock the Great Thief Dragon over; instead, it dragged its bloated belly and delivered an Iron Mountain Lean.
The momentum brought by its immense mass rendered even this simple attack incredibly fearsome. An ordinary creature might have been pulverized upon contact!
But the monster’s physique was strong enough, and Jié Jié, in his form as the Hōng Lóng, could directly withstand Golden Thunder King’s crushing blows.
While being pushed back, he arched his body upward, raising his dragon claw high.
This was the signature counterattack technique of the Thunder Wolf Dragon.
Punches imbued with lightning balls forced the Great Thief Dragon to regurgitate the Herbivore Dragon it had been digesting, causing it to collapse amidst its own vomit.
Claws crackling with golden lightning tore into the Great Thief Dragon’s throat, ending its life of gluttony amidst the filth.
Jié Jié remained silent, still not touching the fallen corpse covered in filth.
For the carcass of the Great Thief Dragon, he felt no appetite, nor any desire to search through it for anything valuable.
Turning away, he disappeared into the woods, looking back just before vanishing to see the pack of Thief Dragons feasting on the special corpse and its expelled filth.
Its flesh would dissolve into the bodies of its offspring, its bones would sink into the earth, and the most stubborn part of its life would eventually return to dust.
Perhaps, it never truly took anything from nature.
And what about himself? How much had he taken from nature, and how much had he left behind?
With these questions in mind, Jié Jié turned and disappeared into the forest.
In his unrestrained sprint, he chose to cast aside these calculations that offered no answers.
Learning from the Black Wolf Bird’s lesson, Jié Jié wanted to focus on using one or two forms regularly for daily activities.
Life on land was diverse and colorful. With no current thoughts of living in the sea, he prioritized the forms of Male Fire Dragon, Savage Jaw Dragon, and Golden Thunder King.
Recalling the old Thunder Wolf Dragon’s challenge and the young one’s submission, the ties between Golden Thunder King and the Thunder Wolf Dragon clan ran too deep.
Leading a clan was a responsibility Jié Jié didn’t want to bear.
“Roar!”
The roar of the Fire Dragon halted Jié Jié mid-sprint. He slowed down and looked skyward.
The two Male Fire Dragons battling in the high altitudes were not both familiar red; one had a shell entirely of azure blue.
Cāng Huǒ Lóng, a subspecies of the Male Fire Dragon, often appeared only in places brimming with energy, like Dragon Crystal Land.
Subspecies individuals were generally stronger than their original counterparts, and the Cāng Huǒ Lóng was no exception. Its wing muscles were far more developed than those of the Male Fire Dragon, giving it a significant advantage in aerial combat.
Even Jié Jié, skilled in aerial battles, could tell that the Male Fire Dragon was gradually losing the fight, finally falling from the high altitudes to the lower ones before fleeing the battlefield.
Still soaring high above, the Cāng Huǒ Lóng roared and flew toward the Ancient Tree Forest, seemingly unaware of the shimmering golden figure on the ground below.
Spring went, autumn returned, and the monsters throughout the Ancient Tree Forest seemed stronger than ever.
The aerial battle interrupted Jié Jié’s unrestrained sprint. After checking on the young Fire Dragons who were safe, he returned to the lakeside.
The young Thunder Wolf Dragon seemed to have gone hunting, leaving only the old Thunder Wolf sitting quietly, watching around. Upon seeing Jié Jié approach, it focused its gaze on him.
Golden Thunder King moved closer to the seasoned Thunder Wolf Dragon, scraping its claws against the veteran’s battle-worn shell and scales.
“Roar.”
Jié Jié softly growled, humbly seeking advice on how to become as powerful.
“Roar.”
The old Thunder Wolf Dragon shoved Jié Jié aside, standing tall and proudly staring at him.
The leaderless Golden Thunder King and the exiled Thunder Wolf Dragon locked eyes.
One had once considered himself overflowing with power, disrupting the order established by the Golden Thunder King to become the new Golden Thunder King.
The other had once challenged the Golden Thunder King, biting off its eye and having its forelimb bitten off in retaliation, leading to its expulsion from the clan.
Neither knew each other’s past, yet the old Thunder Wolf Dragon had never stopped challenging the Golden Thunder King. Jié Jié, his wounds healed, needed more battles to hone himself.
No further words were necessary as golden thunder clashed with azure thunder.
They pounced and bit, they smashed and struck, leaping high from the ground, leaving scars on each other’s bodies.
The golden light illuminating the sky drew the young Thunder Wolf Dragon back. It watched the duel between the two dragons helplessly, only able to witness their dance amidst the lightning.
Their fur rubbed against each other, and the Thunder Light Bugs darted back and forth between them, attacking indiscriminately.
Electric shocks from the old Thunder Wolf Dragon hit Golden Thunder King, but failed to suppress the golden thunder, instead slightly enhancing its power.
“Awooo!”
In Jié Jié’s joyous roar, the golden lightning surged, illuminating the lakeside and the entire hunting ground.
One roar called forth thousands of lights and released ten thousand thunders.
At that moment, all the Thunder Light Bugs surrounding Jié Jié were connected by his radiant golden thunder, forming a sea of light.
At his call, ten thousand thunders blossomed before him.
The azure lightning on the old Thunder Wolf Dragon began to fade, and all its Thunder Light Bugs betrayed it. If not for the sustained electrical charge during the battle, it would have already exited its supercharged state.
The golden ten thousand thunders descended upon it, transforming the lightning it carried into golden thunder.
But this was no enhancement for the old Thunder Wolf Dragon—it was the cruelest punishment.
Golden thunder rampaged within its body, paralyzing it completely.
If it were ordinary lightning, it wouldn’t have collapsed so easily, but Golden Thunder King’s thunder was originally the power of the Thunder Wolf Dragon, making every Thunder Wolf Dragon’s body instinctively accept it. Only afterward would they realize it was beyond their capacity to endure.
Golden Thunder King’s golden thunder seemed akin to the authority of a leader, exerting a restraining effect on the Thunder Wolf Dragons.
Jié Jié gazed at the old Thunder Wolf Dragon, stepping forward and brushing his fur against its body, withdrawing all the golden thunder.
